Method of driving turbines.



PATENTED APR. 24, 1906.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8, 1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1,

PATENTED APR. 24, 1906.

W. B. SAYBRS.

METHOD OF DRIVING TURBINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8, 1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2 No. 818,856. PATENTBD APR. 24, 1906. W. B. SAYBRS.

METHOD OF DRIVING TURBINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8, 1904.

5 SHEBTS-SHEET 3,

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PATENTED APR. 24, 1906.

W. B. SAYERS. METHOD OF DRIVING TURBINE APPLIGATION FILED NOV. 8, 1904.

5 SHEBTSSHEET 4.

W. B. SAYERS. METHOD OF DRIVING TURBINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8, 1904,

PATENTED APR. 24, 1906.

5SHBETS-SHEET 5Q UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

METHOD OF DRIVING TURBINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 24, 1906.

Application filed November 8,1904. Serial No. 231,885-

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM Bnooxs SAY- ERS, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Glasgow, in the county of Lanark, Scotland, have invented Improvements in the Method of and Means forDriving Turbines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the method of driving turbines, and has for its object to enable a turbine to be run at a much lower speed than is now usually employed and with greater efficiency than is at present found practicable.

The kinetic energy of a moving mass is pro portional to m o and in the production of large powers from the kinetic energy of moving fluids it results that when 'm is small, as in the case of gases, 1; must be proportionatelylarge. To effect economical working in practice, it is therefore necessary, as in the case of steam where the value of 'v is large, to run the turbine at a very high speed, which is in many cases inconvenient and sometimes im 'iracticable, as no known material is strong enough to withstand the strains which would be set up in the turbine should it be run at a speed that is necessary to obtain the best efficiency. To avoid this objection, it has previously been proposed to drive turbine-wheels by causing an expansive driving fluid of low specific gravity to act upon a working fluid of high specific gravity and to drive comparatively long portions thereof out of comparatively short and curved passages arranged to direct the working fluid against the blades or reaction-surfaces of the turbine-wheels. This method of driving is attended by the disadvantages that owing to the length of the portions of working fluid in comparison to the shortness of the passages in which they are acted upon by the expanding driving fluid the velocity of contact or impact of each portion of the working fluid against the reaction surfaces varies very considerably, while partly on that account and partly on account of the curvature of the passages the energy of the driving fluid is not efficiently transferred to the working fluid. N ow this disadvantage is avoided by the present invention, according whereto the working fluid and the driving fluid are caused to enter alternately a straight path, wherein each separate volume of the working fluid is restrained from moving except in one direction and is caused to move in the said direction by the action of the corresponding volume of expanding driving fluid confined behind it and which is of appropriate length and cross-sectional area, so that not only is there a practically efficient transformation of the energy of each separate volume of driving fluid into kinetic energy of the volume of working fluid immediately in front of it by the expansion in the path of the said volume of driving fluid confined behind it therein and the consequent acceleration of the piston formed by the said volume of working fluid, but owing to the shortness of each piston in relation to the length of the path the velocity of impact or contact of each projectile of working fluid so formed and expelled from the path against the turbineblades or reaction-surfaces is practically uniform throughout its length in the direction of its motion and under normal conditions is practically equal to that of each of the other projectiles, as is essential to the efficient working of a turbine.

In order that the manner of carrying out the invention may be well understood, an example of apparatus suitable therefor is shown in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, of the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 being a sectional elevation. Fig. 2 an elevation taken at right angles to Fig. 1, Fig. 3 a plan, and Figs. 4 and 5 setional views of the device for admitting working fluid and driving fluid to the expansion tube. Fig. 6 is a sectional view illustrating a modification.

1 is the turbine-wheel, which is inclosed in a casing 2, the lower part of which is connected by a pipe 3 to a reservoir 4, from which a pipe 5 leads to an annular workingfluid chamber 6. From within the chamber 6 there extends a tube 7, (herein called the "expansion-tube,) intended to cause the driving fluid by its expansion therein to project the working fluid therefrom and arranged to direct the fluid so projected onto the blades or reaction-surfaces of the turbine, as required. Driving fluid is supplied at a suitable pressure to a chamber 8, surrounding the tube 7. orking fluid and driving fluid are admitted alternately to the expansiontube 7 by means of a device comprising two annular valves 9 and 10, which are each provided with aring of ports and are oscillated by eccentrics 11 and 12, which are fixed on a shaft 13, driven through bevel-gear 14 from the turbine-shaft 15, and the rods 16 and 17 of which are jointed to arms 18 and 19, ex

tending, respectively, from shafts 20 and 21, carrying toothed sectors 22 and 23, gearing into toothed arcs 24 and 25, carried by the valves 9 and 10, respectively. The result of this operation is that at each admission of driving fluid by the valve the portion of working fluid that has just previously been admitted by the valve 9 and has passed above the valve 10 is cut off by the drlving fluid and is propelled thereby as a piston or pellet through the expansion-tube, and the continued action of the driving fluid, due to its expansion in the expansion-tube, produces acceleration of the piston or pellet of working fluid as it passes through the tube, which, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is straight for the purpose of reducing friction to a minimum.

The exhaust driving fluid escapes from the casing 2 through an outlet 2, whence it may pass either into the atmosphere or if it be steam and a pump be provided in the piping 3 and 5 into a condenser.

As will be seen from Figs. 4 and 5, the arrangement of the eccentrics 11 and 12 in relation to the valves 9 and 10 and the corre sponding ports in the tube 7 is such that the working-fluid ports are fully open when the eccentric 11 is at the end of its throw, and the valve 9 consequently moves slowest when the ports are fully open in order to give time for working fluid under comparatively low pressure to enter to the required amount, while the driving-fluid ports are fully open when the valve 10 is in the middle of its stroke, and consequently moving fastest, so that the ports, which are of a width much less than the travel of the valve, are suddenly opened to their full extent and then quickly closed. The relation between the eccentrics 11 and 12 and their valves is also such that the working-fluid ports are opened while the drivingfluid ports are closed, and vice versa. For the purpose of causing the working fluid to rise in the expansion-tube as uniformly as possible a conical projection 26 is inserted into the lower and downwardly-flaring end of the tube.

By the means described, as hereinbefore in dicated, the working fluid and the driving fluid are caused to enter alternately one end (the lower end) of the expansion-tube 7, which forms the path above referred to, so that not only is there a practically eflicient transformation of the energy of each separate volume of driving fluid into kinetic energy of the volume of working fluid immediately in front of it by the'expansion of the tube 7 of the said volume of driving fluid confined behind it and the consequent acceleration of the piston formed by the said volume of Working fluid, but owing to the shortness of each piston in relation to the length of the tube the velocity of impact of each projectile of working fluid so formed and expelled from the tube against the blades or reaction-surfaces of the turbine-wheel is practically uniform throughout its length in the direction of its motion and under normal conditions is practically equal to that of each of the other projectiles.

When the working fluid is supplied with suflicient pressurethat is to say, at a pressure approximately equal to the initial pressure of the driving fluid, as might be effected by means of a pump in the piping 3 and 5 the working-fluid valve may be dispensed with, as indicated in Fig. 6, wherein the expansion-tube 7 is shown as a continuation of the working-fluid-supply pipe 5. In this case the working fluid will keep moving on; but portions of it will be cut off by the inlet of driving fluid, which will, as before, propel them through the tube and increase their velocity by its expansion therein as they pass therethrough. To cause the driving fluid to rise steadily and with an approximately level surface in the tube 7, there is provided at the mouth of the tube 7 a throttle-plate 27,

formed with a number of perforations, the ag gregate area of which is considerably less than that of the bore of the tube 7, and above the plate 27 there is secured in the tube a grid or diaphragm of gauze or perforated metal 28.

1. The hereindescribed method of driving a rotatable reaction-body, consisting in causing working fluid of high s ecific gravity and driving fluid of low speci c gravity to enter alternately a straight path to which they are confined for the length of said path and along which they are allowed to move in only one direction, the length and cross-sectional area of said path being such that each so admitted separate volume of said working fluid is caused to fill said path transversely like a piston and forced therealong against the reaction-surfaces of said body by the succeeding volume of driving fluid and the velocity of impact or contact of each such volume of working fluid against said reaction-surfaces is substantially uniform throughout its-length in the direction of its projection.

2. The herein-described method of driving a rotatable reaction-body, consisting in causing working fluid of high specific gravity and, driving fluid of low specific gravity to enter alternately a straight path to which they are confined for the length of said path and along which they are allowed to move in only one direction, the length and cross-sectional area of said path being such that each so admitted separate volume of said working fluid is caused to fill said path transversely like a piston and has transferred to it during its travel therealong by way of acceleration and practically efficiently the energy of the volume of driving fluid immediately behind it and that the velocity of impact or contact of each proj ectile of working fluid so formed and expelled from said path against the reaction-surfaces of said body is substantially uniform or constant throughout its length in the direction of its projection.

3. The herein-described method of driving a rotatable reaction-body, consisting in causing working fluid of high specific gravity and driving fluid of low specific gravity to enter alternately a path to which they are confined for the length of said path and along which they are allowed to move in only one direction, said path being so straight and so long and of such cross-sectional area in relation to the volumes of working fluid and driving fluid admitted that each so admitted separate volume of said working fluid is caused to fill said path transversely like a piston and that the energy of each volume of driving fluid so admitted is efficiently transferred by way of expansion and acceleration to the corresponding volume of working fluid before any of the latter issues from said path.

l. The herein-described method of driving a rotatable reaction-body, consisting in causing working fluid of high specific gravity and driving fluid of low specific gravity to enter alternately a path to which they are confined for the length of said path and along which they are allowed to move in only one direction, said path being so straight and so long and of such cross-sectional area in relation to the volumes of working fluid and driving fluid admitted that each so admitted sep arate volume of said Working fluid is caused to fill said path transversely like a piston and that the energy of each volume of driving fluid so admitted is efficiently transferred by way of expansion and acceleration to the corresponding volume of working fluid before any of the latter issues from said path, and

each separate volume of said driving fluid being caused to enter said path suddenly so that as nearly as practicable full pressure is exerted upon the next preceding volume of working fluid admitted to said path before it has moved through any considerable portion of the length of said path.

5. The herein-described method of driving a rotatable reaction-body, consisting in causing working fluid of high specific gravity and driving fluid of low specific gravity to enter alternately a path to which they are confined for the length of said path and along which they are allowed to move in only one direction, said path being so straight and so long and of such cross-sectional area in relation to the volumes of working fluid and driving .way of expansion and acceleration to the corresponding volume of working fluid before any of the latter issues from said path, and each separate volume of said driving fluid being caused to enter said path suddenly so that as nearly as practicable the whole thereof enters said path before the next preceding volume of working fluid has moved through any considerable port-ion of the length of said path.

Signed at Glasgow, Scotland, this 28th day of October, 1904.

WVILLIAM BROOKS SAYERS. Witnesses:

J NO. M. FADZENN, ROBERT THOMSON. 

